Dear Church,
Have you seen that trend going around on social media? ”I’m a blank, of course…” Well here’s my personal St. Luker-style version:
I’m a St Luker…of course, I hum “Welcome to the Family” to myself every time a new baby is born.
I’m a St. Luker….of course, I have a favorite Sunday morning donut flavor.
I’m a St. Luker….of course, I have “my seat” that I always sit in for worship.
As a life-long St. Luker, so much of who we are is something I take for granted. For as long as I can remember, we have been a community of acceptance, hospitality, community, discipleship, and service. Building authentic relationships and connections have been our strengths, within the congregation and with our neighbors and partners.
A few months ago, St. Luke’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee met to discuss what we would work on for 2024. We knew that we wanted to do something meaningful, and like this year’s worship theme…it should be “On Purpose.”
That sparked the creation of PurposeFull Conversations. PurposeFull Conversations provide a chance for St. Lukers to meet new people, eat together, and share their ideas. This past Sunday, over 50 of you joined us for our first conversation, and another 40+ have expressed interest in future conversations.
Our first conversation was about Black History Month, specifically the 2024 Black History Month theme of “African Americans and the Arts.” While allowing participants to share their thoughts and feelings around Black History Month, we focused our conversations around the practice of “Peacebuilding,” and how we as individuals, people of faith, and a community might become peacebuilders. With each conversation grounded in our shared values as Methodists, we find common ground even though our opinions about individual topics may vary. As we embark on future topics, we will always turn to who we are as Methodists to hear as many different voices as possible.
Orlando’s second poet laureate Shawn Welcome’s poem “Swan City” showed us how African American voices and perspectives can help us imagine the viewpoints of those who may be different from us, and the words from Matthew 5:44-45 reminded us of the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: how is the recognition and celebration of Black history the ultimate tool for peace in our community?
Looking around the room I saw people that I recognized from many different parts of my life at St. Luke’s, and those who are new to our community; seeing people laugh and hug and choose to stay in relationship after an hour and a half lunch together is exactly what our wish for PurposeFull Conversations is—knowing each other better and loving each other more.
This Lent, we are thinking about what it means to Love On Purpose. This is a perfect introduction for PurposeFull Conversations—love that: follows us into every situation, speaks through us and to us, rumbles with hard topics, gives a voice to each person’s experience, surrenders the pride of being “right,” and humbles us to really hear each other’s stories.
I hope you will join us for these monthly PurposeFull Conversations. Future events, like one centered around Women’s History Month for March, are in the works already, so click here to get on the list for updates. Now let’s try that trend again, but this time let’s do one for all of us as St. Lukers:
We are St. Lukers…of course, we Worship, Connect, Care, Grow, Serve, and Commit.
We are St. Lukers….of course, we Learn, Live, Love, and Lead our lives.
We are St. Lukers…of course, we Love on Purpose.
Blessings,
Caryn Royer
St. Luker since 1986